It looks so wrong, But it feels so right
by Lyrieux
Summary: A yong girl was exposed to Dark Eco at a young age. A cure was not found.Her mothers killer is the only one who can help... but will feelings get in the way of being normal again? And the eco of the world is under immense pressure... will it break free?
1. For the love of death

**_For the love of death_**

Its three years to the day since my mother's unfortunate death, it is also that exact amount of time since I fell in love with the most unlikely person. It's a rather long story, but I think I have enough time to tell.

**

* * *

**Let's see. At the age of two I was exposed to a rather large amount of Dark Eco by my father, who was a bit of a psychopath I will add, and I was changed rather drastically, but we'll get onto that later. After my fathers 'disposal', my mother made it her life's mission to find a way to reverse my father's doing and make me more _normal,_ so I would fit in better in society. Her experiments with the Dark Eco meant she was exposed to it far too often, but she kept going, fuelled by the hope she would find something that could stop the Eco twisting me into something much worse than I already was.

A few years had passed and I was six years old. My mother had been gradually getting ill, since the Eco had been taking an awful effect on her. I remember very vividly her appearance; she was very pale and dangerously gaunt, her ribs were showing through her skin and her hair had begun to go grey prematurely at the age of 32.

It got worse as the years went by. By the time I was sixteen she couldn't walk under her own strength and she looked as frail as a 97 year old woman. I had to help her around our house, which was in the middle of Forbidden Jungle, since we were not welcomed in society anymore. I believe it was my appearance that was the problem. Getting back to what I was saying earlier, the drastic changes included skin colour and nails. Parts of my skin had twisted into deep blues and purples, in the shapes of sharp flame-like pictures, they stretched up my back and parts flickered around my neck. The tops of my arms were also affected in the same way, but by far the most disturbing part of me was my nails. They had turned a midnight black and were as sharp as blades, although not very long; they only just managed to stretch over the length of my finger tip.

More years passed and I began to worry massively about my mother. No matter how much I told her that I had grown used to the sensation of the Dark Eco in my blood and the colour difference, she would not stop her research. She was slowly killing herself. By this point I was 19 and I knew that I would just have to except who, or more **what** I was. I would just have to learn to control it somehow, even though I knew that it had never been done before, and that people had died horrible deaths trying. But surely, if I had survived this far, there was some hope?

It was early-winter when my mother finally gave in. All of the experiments stopped and she sat crying, for days on end, expressing to me how sorry she was that she couldn't do anything. All I could do was tell her I understood that she did all she could, she finally accepted that there was no hope in the experiments. But she still would not give in totally. By the time mid-winter came she had contacted the Green Eco sage, who told her that he could not help. Desperately, she sent letters to all of the other sages, but they too expressed their deepest sympathy, but were sorry that they could not help.

Mid-winter was in full swing when my mother called me into the bedroom. Perched upon her frail lap was a crystal of magnificent beauty. Its dark purple colour shone slightly in the dulled sun and gave an eerie feeling to the room. She invited me to sit onto the edge of her bed as she put the crystal onto a small piece of thread, and hung it around my neck. She explained to me that Dark Eco crystals were very rare and that it should give me extra strength. I nodded and walked out of the room, allowing her to rest.

I awoke one morning to find that my mother was not in her bed. I frantically ran around trying to find her but had no result. Still running, I went out of the house and deeper into the Jungle, to the one place where I knew she would go. Now in my sights was the Jungle Temple, a supposedly haunted building from the precursor era. I ran up the long-neglected staircase to the top, where a grand balcony was formed. It hung over the canopy of trees, stretching out over them at least 30 meters. The signature orange metal glinted in the sunlight that was peeping through the grey clouds. At the end of the balcony, holding onto the railings was my mother.

I began to walk towards her, but was stopped by a haunting laugh. A man, not too different looking from me floated down from the sky and hovered a few feet in front of my mother. She looked at him and smiled;  
"Gol." She said, breathing uneasily. "Long time no see."  
"Indeed." He said, touching his feet upon the floor and taking her frail hand into his own. He took in her changes and didn't quite understand. "Lily? I told you long ago that your daughter couldn't be helped." He was rather blunt with his statement, but it was true after all.  
"I wanted to try." Her frail voice said. Whoever this man was, he was obviously sympathetic for my mother, although, he didn't look much older than me, even if Dark Eco had gotten to him too. This Gol person leaned in, and whispered something into my mother's ear, causing her to go hysterical. She began to scream and shout in some sort of language that I had never heard before. Any strength she had left was used to try and stab the man with the knife that was in her pocket. Again and again she tried to stab him in her violent rage, and each time he managed to get out of the way. I didn't know what to do; there was nothing I **really** could do. I just watched from the entrance of the balcony, the scuffle taking place.

Seconds turned into minutes and I had had enough. I ran from my hiding place screaming for them to stop. The man, Gol, turned and looked at me, I think he was as amazed as I was that he was like me, and I was like him. _There was something about him…_ Before I had a chance to open my mouth and say something, my mother screamed out, her eyes turning a rotten purple. She lunged towards the man and stabbed him clean in the shoulder blade. He yelled out in pain, I ran forwards, towards my mother, but in her rage, she ran towards me. Any essence of frail had vanished, and she was now something much different. The Dark Eco experiments had changed her into a hidden monster. I should have seen it before. My pondering took away vital time and by the time I had stopped, she was mere meters away from me. It was not my mother running towards me, it was a monster. I held my breath as she got closer, I couldn't move.

Everything seemed to go into slow-motion as she lunged towards me. In a Nano-second, I felt a hand on my waist and another hand stretch out in front of me. A dark burst of Eco flew from the palm of the persons hand in an elegant but deadly manor, and hit my _mother_ directly in the chest, causing her to fall onto the floor in agony. It was at this point that any trace of the monster vanished and my poor mother lay on the floor, in her original form, from before the Dark Eco.

I wriggled out of the grip of the person and fell onto my knees next to her. I scooped her up into my arms and lay her head on my lap. She let out a small smile, before closing her eyes and peacefully drifting away. My eyes began to burn with tears as it hit me that I was alone in this big world, the way I was, without my mother.

Finally forcing myself to realise that she was not coming back, I stood up, to face the person who had done this to her. I turned around, only to see Gol stood there. Not moments ago he was conversing politely with my mother, but now he had killed her. I began to shout between sobs towards him. He just stood there, his white and purple hair blowing slightly in the mild wind, his cloak doing the same. I stumbled towards him, not knowing what to do. As I got to him I threw my fists into his chest, little finger first, before finally giving into the sorrow and let my head rest upon his chest. I then fell to my knees and he followed, wrapping his warm arms around me and some of his cloak. My sobs were muffled by his chest, the cold air biting at my ears.

_**

* * *

**Three years ago. Three entire years. It doesn't sound long, but god it has been. It's felt much longer. I buried my mother earlier that evening on that mid-winter day... the fround was hard but I kept going. _

I have recently discovered that I can't cope on my own. I do need help. But as before, none of the sages can help me in any way, they have tried. Green Eco makes me ill, Yellow Eco gives me a headache and does nothing else, Blue and Red Eco do absolutely nothing either, I can't even channel them.

Just this morning, I wrote a letter to Gol, begging him for help. According to Samos, the Green Eco Sage, Gol hasn't been seen since that day three years ago, he isn't even sure if he is still alive, but what we do know, is that he lives far in the north, and if I don't get a reply, I'll have to go and seek him out.

_Is it wrong… that I have fallen in love with my mother's killer?_


	2. Darkened Letters

_**Darkened Letters**_

Two weeks has passed since I had sent my letter to Gol Acheron, the Dark Eco Sage, for help, and to be totally honest, I had lost faith in receiving one back. My random anger outbursts had been getting worse due to the Dark Eco becoming more concentrated in my blood stream. I was stood on the Balcony, and it was getting dark outside. While staring at the darkening sky a thought crossed my mind, what if he was dead? The stab wound that Gol had received between his shoulder blades was quite an injury. _Who knows…?_

I decided that it was getting far too late and headed inside. I had taken up residence in the Temple, since the small house I had lived in for almost my entire life was burnt down in an attempt to rid me from the area around the village. I was hated, or more feared, by society; one thing my mother was trying to prevent.

Just after I shut the door to the balcony and turned away. Almost as soon as I did so, there was an odd scratching noise coming from the other side of the door. Naturally intrigued, I opened the door slightly, being very cautious and leaned my head around the frame. Much to my surprise, a large Falcon flew in over my head, knocking me backwards. The bird had perched itself upon a small ledge in the corner and in its sharp talons was a creamy envelope, with a calligraphic name written upon the front. After walking up to the bird and cautiously and taking the envelope from its claws, I opened it to read its finely written contents.

_Harlow,  
I apologise deeply for not replying sooner,  
it seems life has finally caught up on with me.  
My Eco experiments have been failing since Maia destroyed herself, and it is hard to keep on track. Harlow, I can help you to control yourself and to be satisfied with who you are, but I cannot rid you of it. If you wish to receive my help then meet me in my Citadel on Monday, through the Lava Tube near the Red Sages lab.  
I warn you beforehand not to tell anyone, not a soul, about your visit, as everyone is under the influence that I am dangerous, and will try and stop you from coming._

_I hope to see you soon,  
Gol. A_

A wave of relief and excitement swept over me while reading the letter, but it was followed by slight anger and sorrow; **he** killed my mother. I threw the letter to one side, its lilac ink was letting off a sweet but sickly smell while under the heat from the lamp, it was quite hypnotising. I could only presume that it was some sort of altered Dark Eco.

Stress set in as I dropped onto the floor, up against the wall. I _needed _help, but I still could not get over the fact that the very person I was seeking help from, was the person who killed my mother. But he comforted me afterwards, he wrapped his arms around me and told me that it was okay, despite the fact that he had been stabbed, he said that he would be there for me and that he would help me but In my grieving anger, I pushed him away. I told him to leave me alone, I was scared. I didn't know which way to turn and quite frankly I was surprised that he replied to my letter at all. I just hope he realised that I did not mean to push him away. In all fairness, at the same time he killed my mother he also killed that monster that had grown inside of her. I think she would have wanted me to forgive him; after all, she seemed to know him for one reason or another.

On another subject, in his letter, Gol mentioned that Maia had _destroyed herself._ I knew about this, since I bumped into Samos after he had come back from Rock Village. He told me that she had overloaded her body with so much Eco, that even her experience could not save her. She was flying over the sea when she had some sort of seizure and went crashing into it. She was found the following day, washed up on Sentinel Beach, an awful end to such a talented person.

Back to my thinking. To get to the Lava Tube I would have to go to the Red Sage's Lab, but getting there would be an adventure on its own if it wasn't for the warp gates. Another element of Gol's letter stood to my attention; the fact I was not to tell anyone about my visit? As they think that he is dangerous? _Pathetic._

I would just have to make some sort of an excuse for going to see the Red Sage, and then I could sneak away and go to the Lava Tube, then onto the Citadel. A good enough plan, but since it was Saturday night, I figured I would go to bed and venture out tomorrow. That way, I should arrive at the Red Sage's Lab late Saturday night. Mentally agreeing with my plan, I went to sleep.

_**

* * *

**_

Sun shone through the small window placed above my make-shift bed and into my face. For the first time in ages I had slept rather well, but cursed when I saw the time on the sundial. It was already half eleven and this was not good for my schedule. I pulled on my boots and skipped out of the Jungle Temple and towards Samos' Hut, just outside the Forbidden Jungle.

I was greeted initially by a scared looking girl, a few years younger than me, with teal hair. I knew immediately that she was Samos' daughter, and ignored her, I had no time little girls. I jogged casually up the slopes and stopped just short of the open door-frame into the hut. The stench of Green Eco stung my eyes and an old man was floating overhead inside. I stepped one foot into the hut, only to hit a creaky floorboard and awoke the man.  
"HARLOW?" Samos cried, in a tone fir for both annoyance and surprise. I rolled my eyes and walked in, absent-mindedly rubbing the Eco Scars on the top of my left arm.  
"Hey, Samos" I muttered, "I need to go and see the Red Sage, its a ,er, personal matter." I gave a small smile.  
"I see, well, Harlow, I can teleport you to the Blue Sage. You see, it seems that the Red Sage switched his Warp Gate off a few days ago." He was floating around the hut rather uneasily, all I was bothered about was getting to the Citadel on time, and now the Red Sage's anti-social behaviour had set me back. At this rate I was not going to get there on time. By the time Samos stopped yappin' it was one-o-clock and I was getting rather frustrated with him.  
"Um, Samos..." I started before being interrupted.  
"Its getting on in the day, Harlow, you should be going, you cant keep me a-yappin' all day." My mouth hung agape in sheer... well... never mind. I took the chance and leapt through the Warp Gate, to the Blue Sages Lab. Teleporting made me feel rather dizzy...

_**

* * *

**_

Seconds after I had leapt through the blue swirling vortex I came crashing, very un-gracefully, into the Blue Sage's Lab. Thankfully, nobody was home to see my hilarious entry, which in one way was a good thing, but in another, it posed the question of where he was. I had a brief look around his Lab, at papers and calculations that amazed me. He surely lived up to his name of a mechanical genius. Deciding that being nosey wasn't going to get me to the Red Sage's Lab, I walked out and began to walk down the cliff towards the village, which was slowly regaining its green grass after a recent fire.

After managing to get to ground level, I walked towards the Geologist, who to my knowledge, was still researching the burrowing habits of lightening moles in the Precursor Basin nearby. She sent me a sweet smile as I walked closer;  
"Can I help you?" she asked politely, still smiling away.  
"I'm looking for the Blue Sage." I said, being blunt and to the point,. My day was already going rather badly and I wasn't in the mood for a social visit to Rock Village, since the people here are crazy...  
"He went away a few days ago, to the Red Sage, for a holiday suppose..." She laughed. I merely said Thanks and carried on walking, down towards the pontoons that lead to the Mountain Pass.  
"Hey! Young Damsel!" Someone called, and being curious I turned around. There stood a rather proud looking man, puffing out his already broad chest and standing with his hands heroically on his hips. I silently snorted, rather amused. I folded my arms and raised one eyebrow. "You are going to Boggy Swamp?" He asked, stroking his green beard. I frowned. _Ew! No!_ "You can't be going to the Mountain Pass? Its dangerous up that way Ma'am. Maybe if I was to... e_scort you?"_ His tone was annoyingly flirtatious. I laughed mockingly before turning around and carrying on, up to the "_dangerous"_ Mountain Pass. _Curiosity killed the cat, Harlow..._

_**

* * *

**_

I hated the entrance to the Mountain Pass. Te heat from the lava and the rock was almost unbearable. I skipped rather quickly across and onto the grass verge, leading into the mountains. It was almost a relief to see that it was snowing, and the higher I seemed to get, the heavier it got. It was an odd feeling, considering that the Mountains were between two very hot places. By the time I arrived at the cave entrance, the snow was very heavy and I struggled to walk through it, considering it was half way up my legs.

The shelter from the cave was a relief, my legs were freezing cold. I was beginning to think that going through all of this hassle wasn't really a very good idea... I could end up with pneumonia on my way to one of the most hottest places in our world. _Madness..._ The Green Eco crystals in the cave were making me feel slightly light headed, so I quickened my place, being careful not to fall down one of the many holes that scattered the floor.

After no more than half an hour of frolicking about in the caves, I found the entrance to the Volcanic Crater, the home of the Red Sage. Thank god I had made it, my legs were finally beginning to defrost in the heat of the crater. Although, now I was a little too hot. If I was hot here, then how would I cope racing through the Lava Tube on a zoomer with a very low heat shield... I could always teleport to the Yellow Sage's lab... But I am lead to believe that since Gol had been in the Citadel just opposite, I don't think he has been there, so I doubt the Warp Gate would be turned on... _Damn..._

I was now just a bridge away from the Lab. I could hear very loud music and the sound of drunken laughter, which concerned me slightly, being that the Red Sage was a very responsible man... I crept closer, partially because the bridge I was on wasn't very sturdy, was precariously low over molten lava and had gaps in it, and partially because I wasn't sure what to expect from the Lab. Crossing it made me have a wave of self achievement, but that was soon washed away when I saw what was happening through the window arch... Much to my..._amusement..._ was the Red, Blue and Yellow Eco Sage's dancing rather sexually to some trance music. I had to hold my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing and giving myself away, _who knows what they could be like while drunk?_ They all stopped to fill their glasses once more and I took that chance to walk in casually.  
"Hey guys!" I said, far too cheerily, "What's going on in here?" In response the Blue sage staggered closer to me before throwing his arms up in the air and shouting;  
"PAAARRRTTTAAAYYYY!" I winced at the loud noise, but continued to persist in talking, after all, it was rather amusing.  
"I s..." I began before being interrupted by a very drunk Yellow Sage.  
"You see.. * hiccup * I luu-rb the Blue Sch-lage..." He trailed off in a drunken manor before pulling the Blue Sage onto his lap.  
"I'm his... * hiccup * bitch..." The Blue Sage's slight lisp made that sentence all the more funny along with the fact that he wrapped his arms around the Yellow Sages neck. I was dying to laugh, but I don't know how well that would go down, so I pinched the bridge of my nose and took in a deep breath, readying myself to speak again. Before I could even contemplate what I was going to say, a large, heavy arm found its way around my shoulder.  
"Har... * hiccup * … low." The Red Sage laughed. I pushed his arm from around my shoulder and he fell backwards, onto a pile of randomly placed cushions.

Before leaving the scene I took a few mental photographs, I didn't want to forget this. Bribery_ uses? _I walked over to the desk in the corner of the Lab and moved a couple of empty bottles, before finding what I was looking for. A small Precurson tablet lay there, and after pressing a few buttons, I transported the zoomer from the Precursor Basin in Rock Village to the entrance to the Lava Tube. _Score._ This was proving to be easier than I first thought. I then managed to get past the now insanely dancing Red Sage and out of the door, back to battle that bridge again. _Joy._

The bridge was around the other side of the hut this time, and it had slightly more holes in. Taking in a deep breath, I made a quick dash across it. I let out the breath at the other side, straightened up, and walked down the slopes and towards the Gondola. It was switched off, which was a shame, but it was already gone four in the morning, so I couldn't go up into Snowy Mountains. _Never mind_. At least I would get to the Citadel on time, even if I was going to be incredibly tired. _I hope he isn't expecting me some time in the afternoon. _

My pondering had bought me to the crossing, over a few pillars of rock and then onto the small track-transporters. I hated skipping over the rock pillars, one wrong footing would end in me falling into the lava below and being vaporised. _Sounds fun._ The track-transporters weren't much fun either, they were really unstable and the creaking from the tracks and the squeaking from the wheels didn't make me feel any better about standing on them. But the ride was soon over, and I leapt from it and onto the solid rock that lead down to the entrance to the Lava Tube.

It was rather hot down there, and I'm sure it got hotter the more you went in. Obviously it was impossible by foot so the zoomer was parked on the trans-pad ready for my epic journey through the Tube. Pfft...Epic... I was far too tired tonight... well this morning... to travel the long length of the ever entwining Lava Tube with its insane heat and sickening jumps. I sat down and leant up against the wall, near the trans-pad, and shut my eyes.

_A few hours wont hurt._


	3. Two kinds of hot

_**Two kinds of hot**_

I scraped my hand against the hot rock wall as I stretched. _Damn..._ It had been more than a few hours, I could tell by the fact that it was well into the day and the sun, or what there was of it in this sector, was shining. I have always been one to track time and not knowing it annoyed me but tracking back to the Red Sages Lab would probably be a super bad move, considering they would all have a major hangover and ask why I was there thus delaying me even more, even though I was almost on time... _Yay me. _

Before standing up I looked to my left, into the Lava Tube just meters away from me. The heat was getting rather unbearable, it was a wonder I had slept at all, although I _was_ incredibly tired. After an exasperated sigh, I pulled myself off the rock floor and took a few steps towards the trans-pad, as tired and as worn-down as I was, it wouldn't get any better if I didn't get to Gol. So, I forced myself to straddle the zoomer and turn the ignition. I blew my sweat-drenched side-fringe out of my face and lifted my feet up into the holders, leaning forward ready to face the hot air and lava of the Tube.

* * *

I took in one final breath before pressing my foot into the accelerator switch and blasting off rather violently into the dreaded Tube before me. My breath remained held for as long as possible before taking in more of the carbon-filled, scorching air. The twisting turns of the Lava Tube made it evermore harder to steer without hitting open lava and the cooling balloons were becoming more and more scarce as I got further into the tube. _I just hope they last the duration of my stay..._

More corners met me as I flew down the Tube, until I finally came to the halfway point. A scary looking machine with large orbs attached to it was positioned before me and far in the corner was a large Precursor door, leading to the second and most dangerous part of the Lava Tube. The crazy machine began to spin, slowly at first and then faster, my temperature dial also decided it was going to start beeping since I was getting close to the maximum heat it could take. I moved into action once again, driving head first into the first orb that met me, popping it and taking a considerable amount of heat away from my engine. I then moved onto another, and the one that followed that also. There were six in total and after popping the final one, the Precursor door opened and my heat gauge was nice and low.

I span around and sped through the door, desperate to get to the end. I was now overheating and feeling slightly dizzy. If the zoomer didn't give out first I probably would. The path was no longer made of rock but tracks made of meshed metal over the liquid magma creating half-circles to ride down. Steering became even more difficult than before and I was longing for it all to end. My wishes were not granted. Ahead of me I could see overhead cables carrying large vats of Eco into holes the rock on the opposite wall, which ran straight across the track before me. I weaved between them delicately, if that was possible at the speed I was travelling. The cables with their preciously dangerous cargo died out for a while before they came back with a vengeance, only this time they were suspended over the air space above a jump I would have to make, mistime this and I wouldn't make the jump but get it wrong and I would go crashing into the Dark Eco vats and if that didn't kill me, the lava below would.

Once again my poor lungs held breath as I pressed my foot down and flew over the jump, my eyes closed tightly. I opened them again to find myself still moving along the track and in sight, the final jump and onto the trans-pad. I felt relieved, but it wasn't over yet. As I approached the final jump, my heat gage began to beep again, only this time, it was extremely high. I flawed the accelerator until breaking point and flew insanely over the jump, just making the trans-pad before the engine failed. I virtually fell off the now broken zoomer and onto the hot rock posing as the floor. It was a relief to be back on safe ground... if that is what it was.

* * *

After a few moments dedicated to catching my breath and settling down after my experience, I stood up and staggered towards the Warp Gate positioned to the right of the citadel. Sure enough it was turned off, presumably because the Yellow Sage was visiting the Red Sage with the Blue Sage and had turned it off just in case, as apparently Gol did not like being disturbed without reason. Being wise for the first time in my life, I didn't turn it on. Instead I walked towards the citadel's Precursor door and decided if I should knock or not. My question was answered when I stepped onto the second step, as the door opened automatically.

I took a step backwards as it did this, slightly shaken. _I wasn't expecting it._ After regaining my posture I stepped carefully through the door and into the corridor, which was laced with blue lights on the lower walls, with some panels on the floor revealing their wires beneath. I edged ever closer to the following door, that I suppose lead into the main chamber. When I was close enough, like the other door, this one automatically opened for me, sensing my presence. It was all very bewildering, but the inside of the largest chamber intrigued me most. It wasn't like Samos had described, there was no floating disks to step on, nor was there darkness all around. In fact, there was a floor, covering the entirety of the chamber, a nice wooden floor with the odd metal joint. In the centre was a large containment field, inside an impressively constructed Precursor Robot. It was all nicely lit and it felt very homely.

I took a few more steps in, before getting a bit too excited and breaking out into a small jog, ending in me tripping over one of the many folders of paperwork scattered over the floor and landing harshly on my elbows and stomach, narrowly missing smashing my face upon the floor. It was at this point that I could feel the burns on my arms starting to raise in temperature. My adrenaline rush that I received upon making it through the Lava Tube had obviously masked the pain, but now I was lay upon the floor of the citadel, it became clear that they weren't small ones.

* * *

Just before I hauled myself up I heard a rustling noise from the far corner, I looked around, but nothing could be seen that could explain the odd noise. I hung my head before opening my eyes again, only to see there was a pair of bandaged feet hovering in front of me at about eye level, two or three inches above the ground. I began to raise my head slowly, to get a better view of what was now _hovering _in front of me. A blue-ish-purple cloak came into view along with a pair of brown slacks, followed by a metal band and a pair of broad shoulders. By this point I was almost too embarrassed to lift my head up any further, as I knew exactly who it was, but I proceeded. My eyes then came across the currently folding arms and red gloves and long blonde hair, stained white and purple, presumably from Eco. I could feel my cheeks starting to burn a crimson red as I came to the face of my founder. Gol Acheron stood... _floated..._ there with the biggest smirk across his face that was humanly..._ or sagely..._ possible. Again I hung my head with an embarrassed smile on my face.  
"You made it then. I was beginning to think you weren't coming." He said, the amusement virtually dripping off his words. All I could muster with my remaining energy was a simple _meh._

After pulling myself off the floor I was told to have a wander around and that he, meaning Gol, would be back shortly. He didn't say where he was going, but I decided not to ask, as it wasn't my business. The logical side of my brain told me not to wander off too far, as I would get lost in such a big place, but the child in me wanted to run around and explore every nook and cranny of the place. Eventually, I decided that the the more logical side of my brain was right and I wandered only a short way from the place in which I was left.

I could see, from looking around the main chamber, that there were quite a few rooms leading off of it. Near the door I had _fallen _through, supposedly the main door, was a small Precurson stair case, made out of the sticking-out-of-the-wall pieces of Precurson metal, which then lead up to a currently open door. I walked up the steps and peered through the door. Inside the room I could see many bookshelves throughout. They were all around the edges of the room and directly through the middle too, all ceiling height. Each and every one of them was filled to breaking point with books and scripts, scrolls and notes. Towards the far end of the room, in front of a large window, was a desk made out of the same Precurson metal. I walked up to it and glanced over the papers that were sat on the desk. They were translations of some sort, from English into what I could only presume was Precurson. _Maybe they were spells? _I confirmed with myself that I would call this room the Library.

I walked back down the stairs and towards yet another door, which unlike the exterior doors, was on hinges and required opening. I pushed it open, an audible squeak sounded when I did so. Once the door opened, it revealed a bedroom. The bedroom was simple and just like the rest of the citadel, it was made from Precurson metal; the floors and the walls, there were also some windows which made the room very bright. The faint smell of Dark Eco was present, so I presumed this was Gol's room, until I saw a different type of handwriting on the paper that was on the desk under the window. _It was Maia's room. _I felt instantly sympathetic for Gol, he had lost his sister to greed for power, one thing I hope I would never fall into. I'm sure she was lovely person before all of that and I couldn't help but think that maybe it was the Eco that did it to her...

My thoughts were interrupted when Gol entered the room. I immediately felt like a little school kid who had been caught doing something bad. My cheeks went red and no matter how much I stared at the wall, they would not go down. Much to my concern, he did not say anything. Not even a mumble. I turned my head to face him, but he wasn't paying much attention, he was looking out of the window with a solemn look on his face. I knew that he was thinking about Maia and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Gol? Are you okay?" I reached out towards him, placing my hand lightly on his shoulder. I didn't know what else to do. I felt like going up to him and giving him a huge hug and telling him that it was going to be okay, like he had done to me. After an exasperated sigh, he lifted up his hand and placed it onto mine, which was still resting on his shoulder. He then lifted it off and held it for a moment.  
"I'm fine." Was all he said. It was obviously a lie and knowing this made me feel even worse about the situation. The urge to give him a sympathetic hug was growing by the minute. The silence remained before I could not resist any more. His saddened face and breaking _black _heart was tugging ferociously at my heart strings and I just couldn't ignore it.

I moved slowly into his view and pulled my hand carefully from his grip. It was only at this point that I realised he was much taller than I was, I'd say at least three inches. I didn't care though. I wrapped my arms around his back and rested my head upon his chest. It was an anxious few seconds, seconds in which felt like hours, waiting for him to do _something... _The silence was broken by the sound of rustling cloaks as he held me at arms length from him..._ rejecting my hug of sympathy..._ I felt like crying inside but I didn't want to show it. I knew by the constant stabbing feeling in my heart that I _loved _him. _I loved him, the very 'him' that killed my mother..._

He was staring deep into my eyes. It felt as if he could see everything that I thought, all my feelings and wishes, revealed to him. After what felt like an eternity, he let his lips curve into a slight smile, a smile still pained with sorrow, but a smile all the same. There was a short sigh, before he pulled me carefully back into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. The memories of my mothers death instantly flew back to me; _the falling into his arms and the comforting words..._ I too held my arms to his back, letting a stray tear fall from my eye.

_I felt safe in his warm arms. _

_I felt the connection between the Eco within us._

_I whispered to him, as he did to me._

_Saying that it was all going to turn out fine,_

_Everything was going to be okay._

"Lets get you cleaned up, shall we?"


	4. Ice and Eco

_**Ice and Eco**_

I was lead, by Gol, up a Precurson staircase to a destination which was unknown to me. It made me slightly nervous, not knowing where I was going, but something deep inside me told me that I could trust Gol... _How strange..._ I snapped out of my daydreaming session to notice that we were walking out onto an incredible balcony, overlooking the North. From here, I could see the Red Sage's Lab and what resembled the Mountain pass. It was amazing how much the citadel spread about, inside and over the rock of the Lava Tube, inside some of the Mountain. It was insane.

I continued to look out over the balcony or a few more moments. The air up here was cold, which was odd considering that we were directly above the Lava Tube and Volcanic Crater was nearby. The oddly cold air nipped at my burns, making them feel worse than they probably were, but that didn't make me feel any better about it, considering my clothes were stuck to them and they were rather uncomfortable.

In my winging thoughts I didn't notice Gol was watching me with interest, that was, until I turned around. I was greeted by a softened smile as he walked slowly over to me.

"Shall we sort you out then?" He asked, with a friendly but insistent tone. I frowned and looked questioningly towards his general direction as if to ask what the hell he was on about.

"Your burns?" He said more than asked, walking closer and placing his hand onto my shoulder, which just happened to have a burn underneath the clothing which was over it. I sighed, which I was in a habit of doing and nodded.

Carefully, he turned me around, so I was facing the lovely view from the balcony and my back was to him. After letting out a breath I in-took more sharply when I felt Gol's hands on the bare skin of my waist. Somehow, without me noticing, he had removed my jacket, and since I had a short top on, that ended 3 inches past my bust, it was easy to do so. There was a deep tingling feeling underneath his hands and on the top of my skin... I couldn't help but let the feeling run through my body... it felt so strong, it made me feel so relaxed and … _loved._ The sensation made me relax so much I let my head fall back onto Gol's shoulder and turn into his neck. He began to draw designs with his fingers up and down my sides, whatever he was doing... _it was relaxing... and I felt better..._

After a few moments, he stopped and I lifted up my head in sudden realisation that he had. I felt my cheeks go red again after I realised what I had done. Upon lifting my head up, Gol wrapped his arms around me, as if hugging me from behind and much to my surprise, he began to kiss my neck. As before, I could not fight against the feeling to let my head lean back, which gave him more access to my neck. Slowly, he worked down my neck and onto my collar bone. Momentarily stopping as a cool breeze swept my hair in the way. As it did so, he moved to my side, and span me round to face him. His eyes were suddenly rather enchanting in their dark purple nature. And for just one moment, all sound seemed to fade around us, there was no wind, no bitter cold... he leaned in towards me, I shut my eyes as he did so...holding onto his shoulders... I could feel his warm breath against my face... and his lips brush against mine... _My heart stopped for just a few seconds..._

A huge explosion from far up in the mountains sounded, creating a sickening rumble that shook the very ground that we stood on. Disturbing whatever it was we were _**about**_to do... Both of us immediately looked to the source of the loud noise. Black smoke was creating mile high plumes from its destination, with the odd burst of Yellow Eco. Gol's face looked concerned.

"Fancy an adventure?" He asked, in a rhetorical way. Before I could of answered he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into him, I locked my arms around his neck and much to my amazement, he kicked off the ground and we were airborne. It was simply terrifying, all that was holding us in the sky was Gol's power over Dark Eco and my arms interlinked around his neck was the only thing keeping me there, apart from his arm that was now comfortably around my waist.

_**

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**_

After a few moments flight time, we were over the very peaks of the Snowy Mountains. The cold air was now really biting at my bare arms and waist. My ears were throbbing too and at the speed we were travelling, it didn't make it any warmer. After a few more feet we began to descend, not slowly, but completely vertically. I shut my eyes tight, as the feeling was similar to that of falling.

A few moments of falling were set to one side, as my cold feet touched the snow-covered floor, and then sank 6 inches. My now submerged-in-snow feet and ankles were freezing, and I'm sure if I could see them they would be as blue as my twisted skin. Gol, who was also looking down to his feet, admiring the recent snowfall, was pulling at my waist for us to carry on. I lifted my head and followed his silent instruction. We walked up a small incline, which sounds easier than it was, since the snow gave an unwanted friction against the movement of my feet. But on we ventured, in silence, to where Gol believed the almighty explosion came from.

Along our way, I couldn't help but look up at Gol, his face, as before, was depressive and unhappy. _To be expected..._ I thought. I nudged at his arm with my elbow, to get his attention and as an instinct he looked down at me.

"You want to talk?" I asked him, keeping my eyes on the floor to watch where I was going. All that was vocally made was a small monotone sound, indicating a yes. "Its not your fault you know..." I muttered, just loud enough to be audible and heard, lifting my head as I said it to look up at him.

"It is..." He said, lowering his head slightly, almost as if he was disgusted in himself.

"No, its not." I began, sympathetically. "None of it was your fault. Maia chose to do that herself. Its , in a way, obvious that she was not going to last long. Unlike you, Maia did not have natural control over the Eco, or the passion to even try. I believe that maybe... she did it to support you, but the Eco began to twist her." I realised after I had said it, that it seemed I had basically said it _was_ his fault. Mentally slapping myself across the face, I concentrated more on where I was now stepping. The ground had changed from snow to pure polished ice and the Lurker Fort was now in sight. Wherever Gol was heading, it couldn't be much higher.

Now past the Lurker Fort, we were travelling into some sort of cave made of ice. It was rather pretty, but I couldn't help but think of what I had said earlier.

"Gol. It wasn't your fault. Maia herself tried to take more than she could control. That's all there is too it." I made myself blunt, in a sympathetic way. Wherever we were, we stopped. Gol turned around and faced me, placing his hands on the tops of my arms.

"Thank you." Was all he said, pulling me into a light embrace as he said it. After pulling away, I looked around, to see where we were.

There was black smouldering ash everywhere and as we walked closer into the cavern, it was clear to Gol what had happened. The frozen lake above had been blown through and was no longer there, making the cavern exposed to the elements. Positioned in the middle of the Cavern was the Yellow Eco Vent Switch. _Well, was the vent switch. _I'm not sure how it happened, and I don't think Gol does either by the expression on his face, but something had literally blown the switch up.

"This is bad..." Gol said, finally standing up from his crouched position near the now ruined switch. I gave him a quizzical look, so he would continue. "Without the Vent Switch, the Yellow Eco cant come up from the silo's deep in the Catacombs... And if the Eco cant come up from the silo's, then it will slowly build up. Pressure will build and it will eventually break free, up through a weak part of earth or somewhere else. Highly unpredictable is its path of destruction now... This poses a major problem. There is not just one silo down in the Catacombs... but 12. Two for each Eco, and if one breaks free and somehow mixes with another, who knows what destruction it will cause." Gol, in his seriousness, had made himself seem strangely attractive again. The way he spoke about the Eco and the Silo's was incredible, it really gave his a sense of wisdom and assurance.

"Is there noway we can somehow release the Eco?" I asked him, while he was in his _wise and sensible_ mood.

"I suppose there could be..." He said, looking up, out of the broken ice and to the sky. "If we were able to somehow access the Catacombs, then we could access the silo's and divert the Eco from this vent to somewhere else, which could also pose as a vent..." He stopped for a few moments while he thought. "Somewhere such as Spider Caves would work. There is a lot of Dark Eco there, but the place that me and Maia excavated a Precursor Robot shell holds a deep well, its destination is unknown. I'm willing to bet that its a ventilation shaft for the Catacombs themselves... Maybe we could vent the Yellow Eco through that..." The grin on his face had grown bigger the more he thought about it. It was a fantastic idea, and I suppose it would be great. How powerful would Gol be considered if he had access to the Catacombs and to the vast Eco stores deep underground? And it wasn't just Yellow Eco down there... Dark Eco also dwelled there... My thoughts stopped when I looked towards Gol, who had an amused look on his face.

"I agree." He said, walking towards the centre of the cavern. _Did...Was? Was he listening to my thoughts...?_ _I would have to be more careful about what I thought near him from now on..._

I joined Gol in the centre of the cavern and within seconds, we were flying once again, out through the hole in the ice and into the cold air.

"Try this" He shouted, so I could hear him over the wind that was rushing past my ears. Instead of staying close to him, he told me to hold his hand, but float next to him. I was cautious at first, but once I got the hand of it, I was virtually flying next to him. Still holding onto his arm of coarse. _Just to be sure..._ It was an immense feeling... I could feel the Eco in my blood beginning to do something that I had never felt before.

"This is incredible!" I shouted back, smiling immensely.

"Your channelling the Dark Eco. That's what the odd sensation is you can feel. You'll get used to it."

We were on our way back to the citadel for now, to plan I suppose. Whatever happened, I was now in a place where I was understood and respected and most of all, I was getting help for who I was. With the Eco now building up, we would have to move fast... in which case, Training will now be regular, according to Gol.

_And think of the things we could do with that much Dark Eco to our disposal..._

_And full access to the Catacombs beneath us..._

_The very halls of the Precursors..._

_To be ours..._


	5. Twisted

_**Twisted**_

Preparations started immediately, the minute we set foot in the citadel Gol was off to collect some books from the _library_. While stood waiting for his return, I realised that I was no longer having pain from the burns I had received from the Lava Tube. Upon further inspection, it was clear that they were gone completely. There was no way that they could of healed on their own. Then it hit me..._ that's what Gol was doing on the balcony, he was healing me with Dark Eco..._ I slapped my hand onto my forehead. **Damn. **My gift of misreading situations had popped up.

"Harlow?" I reacted to the familiar voice.

"Yes?" I called back.

"Come here a second, I have something that will interest you." He didn't need to ask twice, I was across the main chamber floor and up the staircase.

I walked into the library and found Gol sat at the desk which I had seen on my first visit here.

"Hmmm?" I had just realised how tired I was, and the fact that it was getting rather late.

"Here, I suggest you read this book," He said, handing me a large hand-written book which was as thick as my arm. "Read that and you will know everything I do. We'll have you controlling Eco under your own power within the morning." A huge grin was on his face and he seemed pretty pleased with himself for finding the book in the first place. I smiled and began flicking through the pages. The ink in which it was written was familiar to that in which the letter was written, lilac in colour and sweet in fragrance.

Gol wished me goodnight and left me in the library. It was quiet and around 9pm. The book intrigued me, so sitting down at the desk I began to read it. I lost track of time and was halfway through before I looked at the time again; 1:30am. I clenched my eyes shut and opened them again in the hope that it would rid me of some of the tiredness.I continued to read the book on the way to the bedroom in which Gol had left open for me, it was so interesting and everything was written in such beautiful detail, so simple and easy to understand.

Somehow I had managed to get into the bedroom without falling over and had changed into something which Gol had left for me sprawled across the bed. Still reading the damn book, I sat up on the bed, pulling the covers up to my waist. _3:25am. Harlow, I think you need to sleep now, or your going to be tired._ I kept telling myself that over and over again, but I just could not pry my eyes away from the book. _I was nearly finished, I wanted power so much...__** power**_... Finally, just as my eyes closed for the last time that night, the last word dived into my mind. _4am._

_**

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**_

I awoke with a start to the sound of hysterical laughter. Slowly I regained myself and looked at Gol, who was laughing at me from the end of the bed. I took in my surroundings, _nothing seemed out of the ordinary..._ That was until I realised how I was lying on the bed. I was curved up around the pillows, facing the bottom of the bed, with my head planted firmly on the cover of the book I was reading. _This was not a very good impression of myself..._ In confusing anger I threw a pillow at him and buried my head under the covers.

"Go away!" I laughed, feeling embarrassed. This only made him laugh more. "Seriously..."

"Now, now. Who was up all night reading? Who is now assy because they didn't get very much sleep?" Gol said in a mocking tone, pulling the covers off me and picking up the book. "Good read?" I shot him a death stare before replying.

"Yeh. Its _your _fault I didn't get very much sleep." I said, sitting up and swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

"Well. Get over it. We have work to do!" And with that, he floated out of the bedroom and to wherever he was heading. I looked around the room for my clothes, but much to my annoyance, I could not find them. I sighed and turned to a small package that was wrapped up next to a pair of rather high black boots. I picked it up and opened it. Inside, folded neatly, was a pair of tightly fitting trousers and a quite revealing top. It reminded me of Maia's clothing, like in the pictures Gol had shown me. Instead of being the same colour of precurson metal, they were black and dark purple. The armour was in the black colour and the top and trousers underneath was in the deep purple, which matched the Dark Eco in which we would be using.

After pulling on the revealing clothing and boots, I made my way towards the main chamber. I presumed that Gol was there waiting for me, but much to my surprise, he wasn't.

"Gol?" I called out. "Gol?... OH FOR FUCK SAKE, **GOL?**" I admit that I got slightly carried away.

"I'm up here." He called back, eventually. The voice sounded as if it came from the shield that was in the middle of the chamber. I stepped through the Eco shield and looked up, above me was a tube supposedly leading to the balcony in which we were on not long ago. There didn't seem to be any sort of lift or staircase, so I recalled my memories from the book. Holding my breath, I clapped my hands and threw them in an outwardly direction, this caused me to slowly leave the floor. I was quite proud of myself and pointed my toes to start the accent to the top. _Finally I could do something useful._

I misjudged the edge of the tube and ended up flying further up into the air. A plus side to this is that it got Gol's attention, the downside was that I couldn't remember how to get back down. _Classic._

"Come here." Gol called, motioning with his hand.

"Er... Coming!" I shouted back, it was quite windy up here and I wanted to get down as son as possible, so after lining myself up with the Silo in which Gol was stood on below, I made a guess and lifted my arms above my head and slowly, I began to fall down. My feet lightly touched the floor and I was back on safe ground, _or so I thought._

"This, Harlow, is one of three Dark Eco Silo's. The remaining two are upon Misty Island, once of which is an open silo and the other is sealed so tightly shut that it was impossible to open. This one on the other hand, can be opened." He had definitely caught my attention. "You ready?"

"Yeh." I said, standing onto the edge of the silo.

"Now, concentrate on your hands and the Silo before you." His words were soothing and like that of somebody hypnotising you. As I shut my eyes and concentrated, a picture of Gol appeared in my mind, the way he was right now, stood the opposite side of the silo to me. Long blonde hair and the same deep purple scars up his arms creating a mad contrast against his pale skin. The more I concentrated, the more I could feel the power building up inside me...

I opened my eyes and felt them burn. Looking at Gol, I saw his eyes were a deep purple colour, staring directly at the silo. I felt that that is what I must be like too, and concentrated somewhat harder. At the same time, a large beam of Eco shot from mine and Gol's hands directly into the centre of the silo. Slowly, it began to open, a little bit first and then much more. Within a few minutes, it was wide open, revealing the Dark Eco contained within it. The beams cut off and we stood to admire our handy-work.

"Why did we open it?" I asked Gol, noticing that my Eco Scars were not much darker and much bigger.

"Because, all Eco Silo's lead into the catacombs, if we can get down there, then we can get into the other Silo's. In which case, we can stabilise the unstable ones." Gol explained, walking around the Silo to stand next to me.

"And an unlimited supply of Dark Eco!" I smiled, staring intently at the Dark Ooze in front of me. In response to my statement, Gol put his arm around my shoulders, laughing.

"Indeed. So are you ready?" He asked, turning to face me. I nodded and stepped forwards.

"Just think." I began. " Once we get down there, there will be nothing that could stop us." My eyes were darting greedily over the Eco before me. "Think of what we could do to the world with that much Eco!"

"Indeed." Gol laughed. Taking a step in front of me. "Time to go." Simultaneously, we leapt into the Eco and dived deep below the surface.

_Watch out world... here we come._

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_**Yaaayy! Another chappy. Thank you so much to my two amazing reviewers, and Nat, I apologise for this chapter taking way to long, and Meg, im sorry too.**_

_**xx**_


	6. Catacomb Goodbyes

_**IMPORTANT! YOU MUST READ BEFORE READING THE FIC!**_

_**OKay. Were almost at the end of this totally random fic , one more chapter to go :( Sad Times. I really enjoyed writing this. OKay. There is a place during this fic in which you will need to have youtube open on a certain song. Enrique Iglasias - Hero. Have it ready in a tab or something and then when you reach the part in which will say to press play, press play on it and continue to read the fic. :) **_

_**Thank youuuu :)**_

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_**Catacomb Goodbyes**_

I could not open my eyes. There eco was all around me and I could feel the burning sensation on my skin. I felt alone and yet I knew Gol was right next to me, if not slightly further ahead being a better swimmer. Slowly, we made our way deeper and deeper into the Silo, the deeper we got the more concentrated the eco became. As we reached the bottom, I could feel the Eco Ore brushing past my face. It was at this point that I would of screamed if it wasn't for the fact I was submerged, as Gol had grabbed my wrist out of the blue... _or purple..._

There was a burning feeling that swept through my body and all of a sudden I could open my eyes. My sight was blurry at first, very blurry. But the more I blinked, the more my vision regained itself. Slowly, I could see parts of my surroundings. I was standing up, in the middle of a hall paved in orange metal and yellow lighting. Slowly, I moved my gaze into the distance, where large panels pulsated with Eco. I blinked a few more times and it became clear to me that next to each pulsating panel was a corridor. I walked, uneasily, towards one of the corridors in which the pulsating panel was blue. I popped my head around the corner and saw part of a mass silo. _We had made it._ I span around on the spot and saw from the direction I had come from, a large Dark Eco puddle on the floor and the silo down the corridor behind it.

It was all a bit much at once so I lifted my hand in a motion to rub my eyes. My my hand never made it. I was far to intrigued with the fact that my skin was totally purple. Not dark, but tinted a definite purple and the Eco Scars that I once had were now incredibly dark, almost black. I also realised at this point that Gol was nowhere to be seen and I did not want to shout out because I was in an unfamiliar and sacred place. Nervously, I walked back towards the Dark Eco Silo entrance, and admired the panel.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Said a raspy and altered voice. This sent shivers up my spine and I was almost frightened to turn around. I'm not sure whether I was relieved to turn around and see Gol stood behind me, since it seems I was not the only one the Eco had altered. There he stood, his skin a deep purple and his hair a pure white traced with purple and some of the original blonde.

"Gol?" I asked, placing my hand over my mouth immediately afterwards. My voice had become much more harsh-sounding.

"Well, haven't we changed!" Gol laughed, wrapping his arm around my waist and leading me off towards a wider corridor.

The colour scheme of the floors and walls was carried out throughout. We came to a larger chamber, with panels on the wall with scrolling precurson symbols and lettering. I personally couldn't read it but Gol seemed to be infinitely interested.

"Well, this seems to be the main computer." He said, touching the screen, bringing up a menu also in the precurson language. "The Eco levels in the Dark Eco silo's and the Yellow silo's are at an incredible level of pressure." I nodded in agreement and looked up at him with respect. Gol began tapping away on the screen at quite a rate and I stood next to him, only I was staring at the floor, at what looked like flakes of yellow and dark eco ore. _Strange. How could they of got there if the eco was in the silo's?_

Out of nowhere there was a loud siren sound. I must of jumped six feet into the air and Gol too reacted with shock.

"I think that worked!" Gol said, his eyes darting around. "Only problem is, I don't know where the Eco actually goes when it is let out of the silo's."

"Let out of the silo's?" I shouted in pure shock.

"Yes. It says that the eco will be released somewhere to relieve the pressure. It seemed that the systems built within the computer had faltered and did not register the eco levels. Thankfully it is now fixed." He explained. I began to get very nervous.

"Gol?" I said. "There's Eco ore on the floor." My statement caused Gol to look at his feet. The sheer look of the phrase _shit_ was whiped across his face.

"We have to get out of here!" We ran through the halls and towards the dark eco silo. But much to our surprise, there was now a forcefield stopping us from entering. The siren was now getting much louder and Dark Eco was seeping over the floor and _through_ the forcefield. It was instinct to look behind us and towards the Yellow Eco silo, which was now doing exactly the same thing.

"If the Eco's mix, there will be an uncontrollable and devastating explosion. We don't even know where we are!" I could sense the tension is his voice.

"What if peoples lives are in danger?" I cried, feeling helpless. Gol grabbed me and began to run, since in my emotional distress, I didn't notice the Eco's becoming closer and closer together.

We practically flew up the spiral staircase that was presented to us. But as we reached the top there was a deafening explosion from below, causing me to fall onto the floor and Gol to fly into a nearby wall. I span my head around to look towards the stairs, there was a deadly mix of Yellow and Dark eco creeping up the stairs and towards my feet. Gol had been rendered unconscious and we _needed _to get out of there. I pulled my dizzy self up off the floor and wobbled my way towards Gol. There was another small explosion as I reached him, making me fall to the floor again just to his left. In a desperate attempt I shook him to see if he would wake, but he did not. Due to the eco being heavier than usual, it was slow in its movement, so dragging Gol to the other side of the room gave me a bit more time to wake him.

The more I shook him, the more I realised something was wrong. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a Dark Eco Crystal on the floor with a chain on it. At first glance I thought it was mine in which my mother had given me the day before she had died, but upon a touch of my neck, it was still there. I crawled over to the crystal and picked it up. There was a sudden excruciating pain up my leg. While collecting the crystal the toxic eco had flown over part of me and the burning sensation was travelling up through my arms and into my chest. I could hardly breathe, but I had to make it back to Gol. My energy was draining fast as I looped the chain over his neck. I fell exhausted onto the floor beside him and shut my eyes in the hope that the pain would stop. My chest felt as if hundreds of knives had just been launched into it and it was hard to breathe, getting gradually harder.

_**[Press Play Now!]**_

There was a gasp beside me as Gol regained consciousness and rolled over to face me.

"Harlow?" He gasped, scooping me up into his arms and onto his lap. I couldn't find the energy to talk at all, and I could feel my mind fading. I was beginning to feel more and more dizzy and I _knew_ that I would not be getting out of this place alive. "Harlow?" I could hear Gol's tear-filled voice but I could not find the strength to reply. "Don't you dare leave me." He said, pulling me up close and into his chest. "Don't you dare..." I coughed a couple of times and slowly, pulled my arm up so my hand rested on his cheek. A few tears strayed from his purple eyes as he looked down at me.

"You have to get out of here." I managed to say, letting my hand slip from his cheek and down onto his chest.

"I don't want to leave you." He muttered into my ear, holding me so close. My breathing had shallowed and I felt myself coming in and out of consciousness.

"You have to go. We're under Sentinel Beach, there's sand sediment in the corner." I gasped, before whining in pain. "The Eco will wash over the beach and rain over the Village. If you get to Samos, he will heal the villagers. Please Gol,_ go..._" I too let a tear stray from my eye as I looked up at the love of my life. There could not of been a more perfect way to die... _in the arms of Gol Acheron... My mothers killer and the love of my life._

"Harlow?" He muttered between tears. "Don't go... _I need you... I love you."_ There was another explosion and Gol kissed me on the cheek before letting a tear fall onto my face. My eyes closing for the last time. I could hear the Eco snapping not very far away.

" _I love you, Harlow. I'll never forget you. I love you... I love you."_ I felt as if I was floating, and in my final conscious moments, I heard Gol's footsteps fading and the sound of Teleportation, which he always did with his Eco Powers.

_I love you too, Gol._

_**Darkness surrounding**_

_**Pain fading**_

_**Breath stopping**_

_**Life...**_

_**...Ending...**_


	7. Three Of A Kind

_**Okay, so this is the final chapter of this Fanfic. Its written in Gol's Point of view. :) I may do an alternate chapter in the future but for now, this is the end! Dun, dun , DUUUN! ahah! And two chapters in one night? Wow, lucky people! Hehe. I wrote the last chapter tonight, and posted it and then decided i would "start" this one, turns out i finished it, but hey :) Here it is. At least now i can get on with the other fanfictions which have been on hold for far too long :)**_

_**Enjoy :) And thanks Nat an Meg for always reading :) xx**_

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_**The Final Chapter – Three Of A Kind**_

Once the teleportation process was over, I fell to the ground and cried, inhaling sharp breaths between tears. Why did everything bad always happen to me? Why was it always me. The bullying when I was younger I could cope with; the name calling, the fighting. _"Eco Freak!"_ They would call, pushing me over. Maia was always the popular one between the young generation of the villagers, always surrounded by friends and when she was older, _admirers._ This meant that we were almost always separated. The only time we spent together was when we were at home, with our parents, whom I can hardly remember. This of course changed when she began dating, she was always out at night and I was always left alone. There is only so much time you can spend with parents before you go mad. I had never been in love, nobody had ever loved me. Parental love didn't count, they _had _to love me.

Remembering hurt, but I continued. I remember the day our parents were killed out at sea with that insane fisherman. He somehow made it back to land, but with a huge chunk missing out of the fishing boat. His story told us of a great lurker shark. It was at this point I needed to find something to keep my mind in check, something to focus on. It was a sunny Tuesday morning when I overheard Samos the Green Eco Sage talking to his daughter about Dark Eco and instantly became intrigued. A few days later I had found Misty Island was a haven of the stuff and began to expose myself to it. Maia soon pulled herself away from her admirers long enough to see when I was doing with my time, and she too became intrigued.

It was at this point we began to study the Eco and then controlled it after a long while, a while of at least twelve years. I was twenty one when I met Harlow, and killed her mother. Ah yes, her mother. She had helped me and my sister collect food and taught us how to look after ourselves. It pained me to kill her, but she was not the woman she once was, the eco had twisted her love into a monster.

I stopped my reminiscing to look out at the landscape before me. I was on top of the cliff at Sentinel Beach, on the top of the the Waterfall. The sun was just setting, and I only wish I could of shared this sight with Harlow. How romantic it would have been. It brought a tear to my eye just thinking about her. She was beautiful. Her soft lilac eyes changed by the eco and the light tint of purple to her skin made her seem radiant. Her newly altered hair shone in those lights in the underground Silo's; the purples, the whites, the silvers and the last strips of the original brown. _I love you Harlow._

There was a sudden earthquake which reminded me of the dangers still lurking below. _Oh Harlow, how I wish you were here._ I leapt up and flew down, over the beach and towards the Green Sage's hut. _He had to be in._

"SAMOS!" I shouted out as I flew through the door and nearly landed on a nasty looking plant. There was no reply. "SAMOS! GET YOUR FAT GREEN ASS HERE NOW YOU OLD COOT!"Sure I had always hated the man. I'm not sure whether it was because every time he touched me it burnt or whether it was because it was his attitude.

"Gol! What's going on?" Samos replied, walking through the front door.

"The Eco Silo's, Yellow and Dark have mixed and there about ready to explode... _Harlow..._" I couldn't help it. I fell to the ground and remembered her pain-filled face and glazed eyes.

"I know, Gol. The Rocks told me." His voice was sympathetic but concerned. "What is the course for the Eco?"

"Sentinel Beach and the Village." Was My blunt answer. After another sudden earthquake, everything went black. I felt myself float out of consciousness.

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**_

I was slapped awake by a now frustrated Samos. The sun had set but it seemed that I had only been out for fifteen minutes. I pulled myself off the floor and got to work immediately, accounting for all villagers and finding those who were missing. Samos was now healing some eco-covered villagers and I couldn't help but overlook the happenings and wish that somehow I could of got Harlow here so Samos could help her. I felt like I had failed her.

I flew over Sentinel Beach in the attempt to find a lost child. My hopes were hearing thin when I saw the vast amounts of Hybrid Eco scattered over the beach and all over the Village. Peoples houses had caved in with the sheer power of the Eco and needed vast repairing to become safe. Still I searched for the little girl, who's name was apparently Oona. She was described to me by one of her little friends as a smaller-than-average girl of around four years of age, with blue curly hair. Eventually I came to land on the far side of the beach, not far from where I transported earlier on.

"Oona!"I shouted, hoping that she would answer back. For the first time ever there was a faint reply coming from that darned washed up fishing boat in which my parent had died in. It had stayed on the side of Sentinel Beach ever since the Fisherman brought it back, only now, it was overturned.

Walking over to it, I lifted up the end. I wasn't the strongest of men but I lifted it up enough for a small body to crawl out from under it, perfectly unharmed. Before I had chance to speak, two little arms wrapped themselves around my legs and a muffled voice said _thank you._ I put the boat down, or what I had lifted of it, and picked up the little girl. I didn't have the heart to tell her that her parents had been killed so I decided taking her back to the camp in which Samos had set up would be best, for now.

I placed her into the caring arms of her friends mother and went back into the Hut. Samos had finished the healing and was now rather exhausted.

"Keira is staying with the Villagers to make sure they are all right tonight, and then in the morning, we will start to repair houses." Samos said, collapsing onto a chair and throwing some sort of seed to the nasty looking plant I had almost fallen into. I too took a seat next to him and thought about all of the devastation I had been involved with over the past few years. Maia's death, Harlow's mother's death, _Harlow's death..._

I began to nod off when I heard the sound of fatigued laughter. It sounded like Maia's laugh, and Harlow's sweet giggle. I could only blame it on the state of tiredness _that I was in,_ I was obviously hallucinating. Hallucinating if I was, it was all so real. The sound of the laughter was getting closer and it seemed now that they were talking, almost getting to know each other. My eyes were heavy and I decided I would keep them closed, as opening them would only lead to me believing the fact that they might actually be there. _Samos never said what happened to her body after it was found on Sentinel Beach._

"BY JOVE! GOL! WAKE UP!"Samos shouted, leaping off his chair to the sound of girlish laughter.

"I'd rather not..." I muttered to his statement, I was too engrossed in my hallucinating.

"Obviously didn't miss me that much then did you?" Came a sarcastic voice.

"Maia!" I said, in utter shock at the same time as snapping open my eyes and pulling my sister into an embrace. "But..."

"Yeh. I thought I was dead too." She laughed, looking up at her older brother and his new appearance. "Looks like we're not all that different now."

"Three of a kind." Samos said, floating up into the air. _Three? _My head lifted until the figure standing in the doorway caught my attention. I squinted my eyes and could not make out the figure. But as I took a couple of steps forward, the figure moved one or two away, until I had to walk out of the Hut to see who it was. But as I stepped outside the Hut, there was nobody to be seen. _What the hell was that old lump of rotting wood on about...three? _

Preparing to turn back around I heard girlish laughter, by not one but two people..._ surely it wasn't Samos?_

"I think someone's tired." Said a familiar harsh sounding voice. As I turned, something was presented in front of me, stood next to my sister, which I thought I would never see again.

"Harlow?" I said, less of a question and more of an element of pure shock. A huge smile swept across her face as she threw her arms around my neck. "But how..." She let out a small laugh as I wrapped my arms around her and held her close to me, scared that she would be taken away again.

"Dark Eco Crystals." Maia said, leaning onto one hip. "Mine shattered during my..._mishap..._ and I washed up on Sentinel Beach. The Villagers spotted me but were too frightened to do anything and since Green Leaves here was visiting the Blue Sage, there was nothing they could do. I remember waking up, if that's what I did do, in some sort of bubble of Dark Eco. Every now and again, I would wake up and just look out of the bubble, to see black darkness. After a few weeks, another bubble appeared next to mine, with Harlow inside. Her Eco Crystal began to channel Eco and it woke her up. Her Eco Crystal's channelling then awoke my damaged crystal and woke me up to." Maia explained in detail to us.

"Indeed." Harlow agreed, resting her head on my chest. " We recognised our surroundings as Geyser Rock and took the little boat to get back here. Along the way we talked and got our stories up to date." I think the smile on my face said it all.

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After the best sleep of my life lay next to Harlow, we made our way back to the citadel. All _four_ of us. Harlow and myself continued to study Dark Eco and I had been appointed as the Dark Eco Sage, officially this time, and Harlow was considered a Dark Eco Angel. I suppose in simpler terms, a female Sage. While Maia kept her motherly side satisfied with the new member of our misfit family, little Oona. Maia had taken her on as her own and was enjoying life as an adopted mother. Looking at her, with her eco-stained skin and bizarre clothing, you wouldn't think her as a motherly type, but how I was wrong. The Villagers were now back to normal and their houses being repaired. The toxic Eco had since vanished and no trace was left behind.

Harlow and myself were incredibly happy together but kept out of the way on the west side of the citadel. We're planning to visit her mothers grave in a few days, but first, we have to get her health back up to scratch. As for the Dark Eco Silo's and the underground precurson cavern; we decided it was best to leave all of that alone... _Until we knew what to do with it all._

_I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers that moment in time on the balcony..._

_That moment that was interrupted by a loud explosion..._

_Well lets just say... the interrupted has now been achieved,_

_but not after several attempts due to interruptions from Oona with pictures,_

_or Maia with information to convey._

_I finally kissed the girl..._


End file.
